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Thursday, October 31, 2013

DIY: Halloween Glowing Ghosts

Those of you not from New England probably have no idea what a Christmas Tree Shop is, but they are a great little chain store that has pretty much everything except clothing. Their prices are really really inexpensive and they have the best season items around. I went over to one of their stores a few weeks ago and was bombarded by Fall decor and Halloween decorations.

When I saw the bin of glow-sticks, I couldn't resist, especially because they were cheaper than Dollar Tree and they were only $0.79 each! I bought twelve of them thinking that I could somehow get the glowy insides of the stick to illuminate jars that I could place on the sides of my walkway. The problem with this was that 1. I didn't have any jars, and 2. What would happen if the jars blew over and broke on my walkway?

So, I came up with another idea. Using some felt that I had leftover from a project a few years ago, I decided to make myself some glowing ghosts for my walkway.

Because you want the felt to cover the glow-sticks on all sides, you want your fabric to be long enough when around the stick. Find something round that you can use as a template to make your circles, but make sure that the diameter is larger than the length of your glow-sticks, multiplied by two. I ended up using a Wok lid, which was the perfect size. Depending on how long your glow-sticks are, you may be able to use a dinner plate or a mixing bowl.

Trace your circle onto the felt using your marker, then cut it out with a pair of scissors.

Step 2 - Make your Ghost.

Estimate where the center point of your felt circle is, and then place one end of your glow-stick in the center. Gather the fabric around the top of the glow stick.

Secure the fabric around the glow-stick using a twist-tie, like you were making a little head for your ghost. Twist it tightly so that the fabric stays put around the stick.

Step 3 - Make and Attach the Wire Stand.

Because I want to have these ghosts by my front walkway, I used a piece of heavy-duty wire to stick them into the ground. My glow-sticks had a small hole in the bottom, so I wound some of the wire around the tip of my needle-nose pliers and then stuck that end into the end of the glow-stick, leaving the pointed end sticking out.

I used about 7" inches of wire, which was enough to make the coil and to stick it in the ground.

If your glow-sticks don't have a hole in the end to attach the wire, you can simply just coil the wire around the glow stick and still have enough left over for you to stick the wire in the ground.

Step 4 - Light 'Em Up!

Once you have your ghosts put together, you can feel free to use your marker to make little faces on them, or you can just leave them as they are. I chose not to make faces on mine because I can always use the felt circles for something later down the line.

Once you are done with your decorating, snap your glow-sticks to activate the neon lighting.

Step 5 - Light the Path.

If you have your ghosts all set and lit, bring them out to your walkway and stick the end of the wire into the ground near your path. Fluff out the felt a little to make the ghosts look a little spooky, and then sit back and admire your work!

This whole project took me about 15 minutes, and couldn't have been more easy or fun. So, you should do this for your front walkway, too!

Happy Halloween!!

Those of you not from New England probably have no idea what a Christmas Tree Shop is, but they are a great little chain store that has pretty much everything except clothing. Their prices are really really inexpensive and they have the best season items around. I went over to one of their stores a few weeks ago and was bombarded by Fall decor and Halloween decorations.

When I saw the bin of glow-sticks, I couldn't resist, especially because they were cheaper than Dollar Tree and they were only $0.79 each! I bought twelve of them thinking that I could somehow get the glowy insides of the stick to illuminate jars that I could place on the sides of my walkway. The problem with this was that 1. I didn't have any jars, and 2. What would happen if the jars blew over and broke on my walkway?

So, I came up with another idea. Using some felt that I had leftover from a project a few years ago, I decided to make myself some glowing ghosts for my walkway.

Because you want the felt to cover the glow-sticks on all sides, you want your fabric to be long enough when around the stick. Find something round that you can use as a template to make your circles, but make sure that the diameter is larger than the length of your glow-sticks, multiplied by two. I ended up using a Wok lid, which was the perfect size. Depending on how long your glow-sticks are, you may be able to use a dinner plate or a mixing bowl.

Trace your circle onto the felt using your marker, then cut it out with a pair of scissors.

Step 2 - Make your Ghost.

Estimate where the center point of your felt circle is, and then place one end of your glow-stick in the center. Gather the fabric around the top of the glow stick.

Secure the fabric around the glow-stick using a twist-tie, like you were making a little head for your ghost. Twist it tightly so that the fabric stays put around the stick.

Step 3 - Make and Attach the Wire Stand.

Because I want to have these ghosts by my front walkway, I used a piece of heavy-duty wire to stick them into the ground. My glow-sticks had a small hole in the bottom, so I wound some of the wire around the tip of my needle-nose pliers and then stuck that end into the end of the glow-stick, leaving the pointed end sticking out.

I used about 7" inches of wire, which was enough to make the coil and to stick it in the ground.

If your glow-sticks don't have a hole in the end to attach the wire, you can simply just coil the wire around the glow stick and still have enough left over for you to stick the wire in the ground.

Step 4 - Light 'Em Up!

Once you have your ghosts put together, you can feel free to use your marker to make little faces on them, or you can just leave them as they are. I chose not to make faces on mine because I can always use the felt circles for something later down the line.

Once you are done with your decorating, snap your glow-sticks to activate the neon lighting.

Step 5 - Light the Path.

If you have your ghosts all set and lit, bring them out to your walkway and stick the end of the wire into the ground near your path. Fluff out the felt a little to make the ghosts look a little spooky, and then sit back and admire your work!

This whole project took me about 15 minutes, and couldn't have been more easy or fun. So, you should do this for your front walkway, too!